Welcome to 8th Grade Language Arts 2013-14!

Monthly Archives: November 2013

As you may or may not know, effective teaching is a practice in reflection. According to an article by the National Association of Educators of Young Children, an effective teacher “studies data to inform instruction.” This means that a good teacher looks at how students perform on a particular skill, and makes decisions from that data. Because of this, I’ve decided to change tomorrow’s essay test. Instead of relying on quotes in the essay, I will ask you just to recall specific details, so that people aren’t getting stressed out over quotes. The reason is that, after going back through some of our assignments, I realize that many people still need work with quoting.

This is also a reminder that, if you notice that you in particular are struggling with a particular topic, it is ALWAYS okay to email or visit me to ask about it or get additional help. My tutoring days are MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, and FRIDAY (at request).

Today, as many of you know already, is Veteran’s Day. I just want to remind you all that freedom isn’t free, however cliche that might sound, and to thank someone who has served your country. In the United States, military service is totally voluntary, and is 100% paid. While it is arguable that the job is underpaid and many people don’t get all the benefits that they deserve, the brave people who serve the United States make salary and get vacation time, much like other jobs. This is not the case in every country. A few people pay a great price so that the rest of us can feel safe and comfortable.

That being said, our topic for this unit has been setting, and the impact it can make on people and their lives. For extra credit, do a little research to find a country where military service is mandatory. Write a brief paragraph about what life would be like to live in one of those countries. This is also good practice for your fictional narrative!

I hope that we are using this weekend to catch up on our reading. I have been truly disappointed to see the number of people who have neglected (ignored) their reading so far. This choice is severely impacting your grades, and will cause you to fail my class should it continue. Those of you who have been reading, I hope that you are using resources such as the audiobook on youtube, and Sparknotes.com. These things will help you check your comprehension. I know that there are also a number of words here that you may be unfamiliar with, so I always highly recommend using Learner’s Dictionary to research the meaning of those words as you read.

This weekend you have some sporadic (random) pages to read, so read carefully! In the beige book, the pages are 79-86; 94-96; and 99-101. In the purple book, the pages are 59-65; 71-72; and 74-76. Please email me with any questions.

I look forward to discussing the events of this weekend’s reading with all of you!